“Don’t fight hate with hate.” That was one of the messages from the Airdrie Pride Society as City Hall was illuminated in Pride colours Sunday evening to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

The riots started in response to police raids on June 28, 1969 in New York City and are widely recognized as the start of the modern Pride movement.

Sunday’s lighting of City Hall was particularly impactful this year considering the recent vandalism to the rainbow path at Nose Creek Park. In a matter of seven days, the path and areas around it were spray painted with hateful messages targeting the LBGTQ2S+ community as well as the BIPOC community, it was repainted and surrounded by chalk messages of love and support, then sadly it was vandalized again with a sticky tar-like substance and feathers.

The latest incident sparked outrage, but also an immense amount of support in Airdrie, Alberta, and across the country. Dozens of supporters gathered at City Hall Sunday evening to see the building lit up like a rainbow and hear from board members of the Airdrie Pride Society.

ote from Marsha P. Johnson: ‘History isn't something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities.’

She talked about what the LGBTQ2S+ community needs in the wake of such hurtful vandalism.

“Somebody did something awful and made a decision and that became our reality to deal with. I think what the community looks for now is all of you, is the allies to make a different reality for all of us and all of those that are seeing that and absorbing that tragic, hateful act alone,” Mohr said. “I think about how much that would have scared me before I was out. So it’s really asking allies and asking the community to come together, and we have to be louder than what that was for as long as we need to be louder.”

Mohr commended the City of Airdrie for its unwavering support, city staff for quickly working to clean up the mess left behind after both incidents, and the RCMP for investigating the matters and taking them seriously. The Airdrie Pride Society said it's working with the City on a more permanent solution for the rainbow path that so many have come to love and how to prevent and deter any further damage.